


Ladybug Season

by RamblingMegome



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Armin knows exactly how to get what he wants from Eren, Bugs & Insects, Domestic Fluff, Eremin - Freeform, Eren gives in way too easily, Established Relationship, Fluff, Humor, I guess you might even be able to call this a crack fic it's pretty silly, Insects in large quantities, M/M, So if that freaks you out you may not wanna read this, They're just ladybugs though, mild swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-07
Updated: 2016-11-07
Packaged: 2018-08-29 14:23:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8493295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RamblingMegome/pseuds/RamblingMegome
Summary: Eren comes home to something he never expected to find, or to see in his life, ever. Luckily, Armin's there to make him feel better about it, even if he has somewhat different ideas about how to handle the situation.Just a short silly thing I wrote on a whim.





	

Eren didn’t hate bugs exactly – he was actually pretty okay with most of them. It was hard to really hate something that made the love of your life’s eyes light up like someone had put sparklers in there. That had definitely been a big factor in Eren’s tolerance levels. Armin had imparted to him over the course of their many years together about why insects weren’t all just gross multi-legged monstrosities. _Oh no, Eren, that’s a crane fly, don’t smash it! It only_ looks _like a giant mosquito, it’s totally harmless! Eren, quick, come look at this ant! It’s carrying off a dead beetle three times its size, isn’t that so cool? Eren, I found a cicada shell! Aren’t insects fascinating when you get to see them up close?_

So he’d long ago quelled his instinct to smack at any bugs that got too close to him, because doing so always made Armin wince in sympathy for the little creatures that he insisted were just trying to go about their own lives. And to be honest, Eren had also come to think they could be pretty cool. As long as they stayed off of him, he was fine with upholding the mercy policy when dealing with bugs that had found their way into his and Armin’s apartment, scooping them into a cup or something and depositing them outside. Unless it was a big spider or a wasp or something nasty. Those were up to Armin. If he wasn’t home they got the broom, and a slightly guilty apology as Eren dropped their remains into the trash. He tried not to tell Armin about those occasions for fear of his disappointed little pout, but at least the blonde didn’t object to him smacking at biters that tried to land on him. Something about justifiable self-defense.

“I’m home!” Eren called out, shutting the apartment door behind him and slipping off his shoes. October was wearing on, and the walk back from work had been chilly – he was going to need to start wearing his jacket soon. He paused and frowned when no response came to his announcement. The hall light was on, and the other pair of shoes were here, so Armin was definitely back by now. Usually they came out to welcome each other home with a kiss. Eren wanted his kiss.

He set off in search of his boyfriend, peering into each room he passed. Armin wasn’t in the living room reading or playing a video game or poring over an article for work. He wasn’t in the kitchen, though he had been – Eren could smell dinner cooking in the oven. Overcooking, actually. He peeked into the oven, saw the singed leftover lasagna, and turned the heat off. Huh. It wasn’t like Armin to forget about the oven, that was usually Eren’s job. When the meal had been salvaged and left on the counter to cool, he resumed his search. Armin wasn’t in the bedroom waiting to surprise him… damn. And the connecting bathroom was empty. That left only one other viable option. Eren made his way into to the spare room they used as a storage-slash-guest room… and found no Armin. Just before he started to get worried, though, he noticed that the small bathroom door was ajar, and the light was on within.

“Armin?”

He gave a light knock on the doorframe, then pushed into the room – and stopped dead in his tracks.

“Oh, Eren!” Armin greeted him in surprise, perched on the edge of the tub. “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you come home. I got a bit… distracted.” He gave a chuckle.

“Uh.” His brain tried to process what his eyes were seeing. Armin was just sitting there cheerfully like nothing was off. Eren blinked, to see if maybe he was just imagining things. At first he thought Armin had chicken pox. But, wait, people didn’t get chicken pox more than once, right? And Armin had gotten his back in preschool. Eren remembered, because he’d snuck into his room after school in a show of solidarity. So they were both immune by now. Measles, then? Surely Armin wouldn’t be so calm if he had measles. Wait… no, that couldn’t be right. Clothes definitely couldn’t get measles. And he was pretty sure measles couldn’t move, either. Maybe the light was playing tricks on him, because Armin sure looked like he was covered in tiny moving red spots. They roved all over his arms, his hands, his torso, and even his legs.

Something dropped down onto Eren’s shoulder with a tiny _click_. He looked up. He blinked again. He must be seeing things. The last time he’d checked, the ceiling in here had been white, not reddish-orange. And it definitely didn’t have actively shifting patterns. He was no interior decorator, but he was pretty sure that wasn’t even possible. Or maybe it was possible for disgustingly rich people, which they were certainly not.

“Uh.” It finally clicked. “What.” Unfortunately, he was still having too much trouble accepting the reality of this situation to properly vocalize his discomfort.

“They’re ladybugs!” Armin beamed excitedly at him. “I came in to grab the spare conditioner since ours is out and I found all these guys. They must’ve found a way in trying to get out of the cold.” He looked fondly down at a couple of the bugs wandering aimless circles around his fingers. “I guess this room retains heat pretty well. I’ve never seen so many in one place!”

Eren hadn’t either. He looked around the room, baffled. Ladybugs covered the ceiling to the point where the surface beneath was only visible in tiny spots here and there as the little creatures shifted. They spilled over a short way down the walls, taking advantage of the more open space to wander in seemingly random circuitous patterns. They dotted every surface with varying degrees of frequency – they were even in the sink, the white ceramic crowded with tiny moving mounds. One ladybug was exploring the faucet, looping around the mouth a few times before wandering over to the cold water tap, then back up to the faucet, back to the tap… etcetera. And Armin was just sitting in the midst of it all, looking happy as can be.

Eren looked down. The ladybug that had dropped onto his shoulder was now meandering aimlessly down his sleeve. Okay, this was fine, it was just a ladybug, he tried to reason. Just a ladybug. One ladybug. Out of probably hundreds in this one room. One of the insects took off from the sink, flew a heavy drunken spiral through the air, then smacked against the front of his shirt and clung there. Okay, two ladybugs. Still fine. Briefly, he wondered in exasperation why the things had wings if they couldn’t even use them properly.

“Um. That’s a lot.” They were the first real words Eren could manage. A third ladybug followed the second onto his shirt. His fingers twitched as he resisted the urge to smack them off. He was reaching his limit. Normally it wouldn’t be so bad, but the sheer number of them was freaking him out a bit. He didn’t know how Armin could sit there and let them crawl all over him. Actually, he did know. Because it was Armin. “How… How are we going to get them all out?”

“Hmm.” Armin pursed his lips as he considered this. “I’m not sure. I’d rather not have to resort to a pesticide.” He regarded one of the insects fondly as it climbed to the tip of his finger, prepared to take off… then folded its wings back up and trundled right back down his hand. “And it’s not like they’re hurting anything…” His blue eyes roved innocently over to meet Eren’s.

“No,” he said firmly, knowing exactly where this was headed.

“Oh, come on. Ladybugs don’t cause any damage, they don’t bite or sting... and we almost never use this room anyway,” Armin reasoned.

“What… what if Mikasa comes to visit?”

“She can always use the master bathroom, it’s not a big deal.”

“What if they keep spreading and take over the apartment?”

He rolled his eyes. “I think they would’ve done that by now, if they were going to. They’ve probably been here for at least a few days already, I doubt we got this many in just one night.”

Eren grumbled. He didn’t want this many bugs in the house. Seeing them all shifting around in such masses made his skin crawl. But… Armin was looking at him so imploringly with those big blue eyes. Those big blue eyes that had been lit up so brightly a few moments ago while observing the little spotted creatures. Those big blue eyes that had always seemed to trigger some sort of automatic melting function somewhere in Eren’s heart.

“No,” he repeated, but his resolve was weaker.

Armin contemplated him for a moment. That wasn’t a good sign. He stood up and crossed the tiled floor cautiously, making sure not to step on any stray insects, and stopped before Eren, who determinedly held his ground. Carefully, he removed all the ladybugs from Eren’s shirt, slim fingers pressing against his chest through the fabric as he gently prompted the tiny creatures onto his own hands. Each touch was a shattering blow to Eren’s defenses. He could physically feel his mental fortitude crumbling away into dust under the vicious attack. The reassuring sense of tranquility that came with Armin’s presence didn’t help, either.

The blonde raised wide eyes to meet Eren’s again. He was the very picture of hopefulness (cunning hopefulness; Eren knew full well when he was being manipulated but somehow he could never resist it anyway), all blue and gold and so perfect and compassionate he even cared about bugs that were too stupid to even fly in a straight line.

“Please?”

He knew he had lost, and heaved a dramatic sigh. “Just don’t start bringing them food,” he grumbled in defeat. “And you can be the one to clean them up when they start dropping dead onto the floor. I’m not coming back in here until they’re gone.”

Armin’s resulting beam was so blinding Eren was sure he’d see its afterimage for hours. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it,” he reassured with a laugh. “Thanks.”

“If I start seeing ladybugs in the other rooms I’m blaming you.”

“Now that’s not fair, it’s not like this is the only place they can get in.” Armin pouted.

“I don’t care. I’m still blaming you.” He huffed in mock resentfulness. One of the ladybugs Armin had removed parted its domed carapace, spread its frail little wings, and made the short and graceless journey back to Eren’s shirt. “That’s your fault, too,” he informed him, just for good measure.

Armin giggled. “I think this one likes you.”

“Well I don’t like it. Get it off so I can go eat dinner and pretend this room doesn’t exist.”

Armin gasped and his eyes went round in alarm. “Shit, the lasagna—!”

“Don’t worry, I got it out while you were busy being a nerd.”

“Oh, good.” He sighed in relief, then glanced up with a raised eyebrow. “A nerd, huh? Don’t forget who keeps your bed warm at night.”

“I never said it was a _bad_ thing.”

“Good, I was considering letting you get that ladybug yourself.” But he plucked it back off Eren’s shirt as he spoke and gave his chest a little pat. “Would you go set up for dinner? I’ll be in once I get these guys off me.” Armin glanced down at the many tiny creatures happily traipsing about his own shirt, blissfully ignorant of how lucky they were to have wandered into so charitable a home. “It, uh… might take a little bit.”

“Gladly.” He wheeled about, ready to put this room and its spotted horrors behind him, but Armin called to him again.

“Wait, don’t I get a kiss?”

He turned back around. His boyfriend stood in the doorway, watching him expectantly. His lips were pursed just slightly, his straw-colored hair a soft frame around his brilliant blue eyes. A light smattering of leftover summer freckles dusted his cheekbones… and his shirt was covered in ladybugs.

Yep. This was exactly the man Eren wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He stepped back towards Armin and leaned down, capturing those soft lips, but he kept a bit of distance between their bodies to avoid the insects. The blonde gave a contented sigh, his mouth pulling gently against Eren’s.

The kiss was broken when they heard a small _click_ , and they looked down to find the one ladybug back on Eren’s shirt. Again.

“Goddammit,” Eren swore, but neither of them could help laughing.

“I’m telling you, this one likes you,” Armin snickered as he removed it for a third time. “You’d better go before it decides to crawl up your sleeve or something.”

“Ugh. Yeah, okay.” He grimaced at the mere thought. “I’ll see you in a minute.”

“Be right there.” Armin gave him a warm smile and their gaze held for a moment before Eren turned. He made his way back to the kitchen with a goofy grin, the image lingering in his mind’s eye. He may not be the biggest fan of bugs – at least not in such large, concentrated numbers, as he’d discovered today – but Armin’s excitement, his smiles, his kisses… those were more than enough to make up for it. Especially the kisses.

As long as he didn’t try to keep spiders next, anyway.

**Author's Note:**

> I was watching a couple ladybugs crawling around my ceiling a couple weeks ago and it made me remember one of the places we lived when I was a kid. In the winter, the bathroom connected to my room was literally covered in ladybugs, to the point where you couldn't even see the ceiling. They were everywhere. It was awesome.
> 
> So, naturally, I decided to write an Eremin fic about it. I think Armin in particular would be fascinated with insects. (Or maybe I'm just projecting. What a surprise that would be.)
> 
> Anyway thanks for reading, if anybody actually got past the tags. Haha.


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